Ohman versue Adorno and Horkheimer

One of the contrasts between Ohman and Adorno and Horkheimer is that Ohman epouses the the Marxist theory of hegemony while Adorno and Horkheimer subscribe to the theory of manipulation. According to Ohman the theory of Hegemony "shares with other marxisms the historical materialist view of how history happens, and of how capitalism happenend, in particular. It places the same emphasis on forces and relations of production, on classes, and on class struggle" (Ohman, pg. 44) However it diverges from other marxist theories, including the theory of manipulation in the fact that although the "bourgeoisie did come to own the means of mental production, but not as a system apart from material production. Rather, it has to establish and control new means of communication in order to carry out its scheme of production for markets, and of accumulation." ( Ohman pg. 44,45) This is in stark contrast to Adorno and Horkheimer's theory of manipulation that holds the view the the "mental production" of the superstructure is for the purpose to hold down the lower class and to confuse the masses into a delusional bliss of mass consumption for products that they do not need or can afford.
A second contrast between Ohman and Adorno and Horkheimer is the function and purpose of the advertising of mass culture. According to Adorno and Horkheimer, " the deceived masses are today captivated by the myth of success even more than the successful are." Adorno and Horkheimer also believe that "advertising today is a negative principle, a blocking device: everything that does bear its stamp is economically suspect. Universal publicity is no way neccessary for people to get to the kinds of goods - whose supply is restricted anyway." According to Ohman this point of view is incorrect. Mass advertising evolved for different reasons in Ohman's opinion. The first reason is to sell the output of mechanized production. In order for business to return a profit it is essential that supply and demand are as close to identical as possible. The second reaon is the production of many of the goods in factories that were once produced in the home, (i.e. soap, food, clothing) created a new class of consumers. Ones that not only produced the goods but consumed them as well. With so many items now produced in factories, consumers have leisure time. According to Ohman it is a natural progression for the producers of convenient and efficient goods to "situate their products within a way of life that was becoming the norm for urban and suburban people, mainly of the proffessional and managerial class." (Ohman, pg. 91) National advertisers helped create this new way of life and also siezed the opportunity it afforded them. Corporations were doing more than dumping surplus product through advertising. They were "looking for a nexus between high speed, continuous-flow manufacturing and the reshaping of people's habits and lives." (Ohman, pg.91) The hegemony of corporations reached out beyond the sales of commodities, "to a metamorphosis of aspirations and imaginations. In this, corporations were no less powerful because those who took up their messages wanted to be consumers." (Ohman, pg 91) For this reason hegemony is responsible for national advertising not manipulation.